As China is asserting itself in South China Sea posing a threat to nations on its rim, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday asserted that freedom of navigation in oceans is Governed by
rules-based order and no power or group of powers should have the right to change it unilaterally.
China has territorial disputes over the South China Sea with several countries of the region, and India along with other nations have been maintaining that freedom of navigation and over flight must be respected in the area.
Without naming China in her speech at the two-day "Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue" organised by the Indian Navy, the defence Minister said "we belong to a multi-polar world, where we want to make it clear that freedom of navigation can never be unilaterally or arbitrarily questioned by anybody.
"And, we are very clear in saying that this is the rules-based order globally, and no one power, or a regional power, or no group of powers or no one, should have the right to unilaterally change this order," she said. Navy Chief Admiral Sunil lanba, Sri lanka Chief of Defence Staff Admiral Ravindra Wijegunaratne and Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence in the UK, Stephen lovegrove, were also present on the dais.
She said India now has assumed the statute of global influencer of policies and takes its leadership role seriously. The minister also said freedom of navigation is a "universally accepted" norm that can "never be challenged.
And, any situation that poses a question about it must be taken up seriously by all of us." The Indian Navy chief said the recent churning of global order has also prompted many nations to pursue aggressive international cooperation. and seek new alignments in support of their respective own interests.
Therefore restoring the faith in a rules-based order, irrespective of who leads that order, is one of the challenges, he said.
